Superfood Saturday-Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Memories

I think part of the experience of foods, especially foods around any holiday are centered around memories.

One of the reasons Ilike hot cross buns is I remember my mom making them for Easter. 
She loved Easter. It was her favorite holiday.  I remembr her making hot cross buns and how much I liked them.  She made almost everything from scratch and was an outstanding cook.

She always tried to make something special for any holiday. One Easter I remember she made raised yeast doughnuts.  She made them on Saturday afternoon and told us they were for Easter breakfast and no one was allowed to have one. With seven kids that is asking a lot.

She put them on a plate in our walk-in pantry and closed the door.  So she thought here work was done.  She had made about 3 dozen raised doughnuts. They were glazed and perfect. Think Krispy Kreme but maybe not so sweet.  True works of art, just waiting for us on Easter morning. Or so we thought. It had taken hours of mixing, frying and glazing.

My family always had several dogs.  My dad was a hunter and he always had a labador retriever. There job is to bring back birds to their master when they are shot down.  No water is too cold for them to swim through to retrieve a bird for their master. They are bred to retrieve.

So later in the evening of the doughnut making the whole family was gathered in the living room to watch TV. Suddenly our black lab Missy appeared in the living room proudly brining my dad one of the raised doughnuts from the pantry.  A quick investigation and we discovered she had broken into the pantry and eaten all but one of our precious raised doughnuts and brought pretty much the last one for her master.  She didn't get a "good doogie" for that.

My mom was in tears after all her work was devoured by the dog.  She actually went into the kitchen and whipped up some plain old doughnuts because there was no time to make more raised doughnuts.
That story is a family legend and we still laugh about it.  My brothers wanted to blame my little Sheltie mix dog, but  I will point out which dog was carrying evidence of the crime.

So you can mix up a batch of something special for your holiday. My brother will be with me. He had been trapped in the Philipines, but has managed to get a flight out. I am very grateful to everyone that has made his being safely at home possible.

I doubled the recipe and froze half for later.  I also made a couple of tweeks to the recipe and you should feel free to adjust it as well.

Hot Cross Buns
1 cup half and half
1 envelop instant yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons butter
4 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons, cinnamon, alspice and nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 orange zested
2/3 cup raisians
1 cup confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons organge juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Put the half and half, sugar and butter into a saucepan.  Heat until the butter is melted.  Add the raisians. Let the mixture cool until between 110F to 115F. 

While the mixture is cooling, add the yeast, spices, organge zest and 1 cup of flour to a large mixing bowl. If you have a mixer with a dough hook, use it.

Add the cream and butter mixture to the flour and start to mix. Add the eggs, one at a time.  Start to slowly add the rest of the flour. Continue to mix until all the flour is added. The dough may be a bit sticky.  Mix for 5 minutes if you have a bowl with a dough hook. If not knead for 5 minutes, adding flour if needed.

Form into a large ball and place into a greased bowl. Top the dough with oil and cover.  Allow to rise until doubled or about 3 hours. 

Turn the dough onto a work surface and divide into 16 balls.  Place the balls into a buttered pan in rows of four.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in volume. Again about another 2 to 3 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.  Using scissors, cut a cross in the top of each roll about 1/2 inch deep  Bake for 45 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Take out of the oven and allow to cool. While the rolls are cooling, mix the sugar, juice and vanilla.
The consistency should be thick enough to drizzle or pipe onto the rolls. Adjust by adding more sugar if too watery or a bit of water if too thick.

Frost the cut out area to make a cross.
Makes 16 rolls.

*******************

Chris Wodke

Founder & Manager Team CMT

www.run4cmt.com

Chris is a triathlete and long distance runner. She is a three time participant of the Boston Marathon.  In 2012 she finished 2nd at Boston in the Mobility Impaired Division. She was on the course in 2013 when the bombs exploded.

She has appeared three times at the Paratriathlon National Triathlon Sprint Championship. She was the 2012 and 2014 National Champion Paratriathlon Open Division Champion.

In 2014 she was the PC Open Champion at the Duathlon National Championship and at the Aqua bike National Championship in 2016. She represented Team USA at the Aquathon ITU World Championship in Chicago in 2015i, Cozumel in 2016 and Denmark in 2018. In 2018 finishing 5^th in the 60 to 64 age group.

 In 2014 she represented the U.S. as a paratriathlete at the Pan-American Triathlon Championship in Dallas, Texas.  She has won state championships in cycling and triathlon as a senior Olympian. In 2017 she placed 2^nd in her age group at the Winter Triathlon National Championship, earning a spot on Team USA for the World Championship.

In 2020 she was named a National Ski Patrol Subaru Ambassador and a USA Triathlon Foundation Ambassador.

She travels around the country raising awareness of CMT.

She is the author of the book, “Running for My Life” that details her experience as a CMT affected athlete and the book “Soup Sundays, A Journey Toward Healthy Eating”.

http://www.henschelhausbooks.com/catalog/memoir-biography/215-running-for-my-life-winning-for-cmt-9781595982827.html

You may visit her author page at:
http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Wodke/e/B00IJ02HX6

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMTWe currently have 233 athletes in 41 states. We also have members in Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Vietnam, Iran, Scotland, France, Turkey, Poland, Norway, Mexico, Wales, Ireland and Sweden!. If you wish to join us visit our web site; www.run4cmt.com or www.hnf-cure.org

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.

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